Finished the last of a gift of a loose mao cha from Vital Tea Leaf--their 'Royal' puerh. The later infusions, plummy and sweet, are quite delightful, and nicer than the initial session, which due to unexpected time pressure at work, was a dump-tea-into-thermos-add-hot-water session. Now it's more 'grandpa style' with a little hot water and more deliberate brewing, and rewarding the extra care with extra nice tea. .

The more I drink bad tea, the more I appreciate Xiaguan. That nasty ole '03 Jincha is so much more pleasant than many bad teas with big names. '07 Xiaguan tuocha originally from Bana Tea Company is providing a very pleasant cheap tea experience today.

I would suggest the Yunnan Sourcing 2009 "Yi Wu Da Qiu Feng". It is an excellent tea that I bought recently. It has very little bitterness, just a touch of sweetness, and a nice aftertaste. The website says it has a nearly chocolate aftertaste, which is one of the reasons I bought it. I have not found that to be literally true but it is really good and I am thinking of buying a tong for further aging.

AllanK wrote:I would suggest the Yunnan Sourcing 2009 "Yi Wu Da Qiu Feng". It is an excellent tea that I bought recently. It has very little bitterness, just a touch of sweetness, and a nice aftertaste. The website says it has a nearly chocolate aftertaste, which is one of the reasons I bought it. I have not found that to be literally true but it is really good and I am thinking of buying a tong for further aging.

00 7542 from farwenwapuer.Wordpress.com. For the price it is a very decent semi-aged tea. It had some traditional storage a while ago, but has had plenty of time to revive. I would grab a cake of this if it was available.

gasninja wrote:00 7542 from farwenwapuer.Wordpress.com. For the price it is a very decent semi-aged tea. It had some traditional storage a while ago, but has had plenty of time to revive. I would grab a cake of this if it was available.

That tea sells for how much acceptable tea costs, more or less. Remember, we live in the days where a brand new 7542 is $30. Particularly if it's made from Banna leaves. I'd say it's actually a nice buy at it's current price if you like the taste.